Car Woes

So I was driving to work yesterday and just when I'm nearing my office, I heard a strange rattling noise coming from the engine. As I turned into the Juru intersection, opposite Auto-city, my car decided to fuck it and killed the engine. Luckily, I sensed that this was gonna happen, and managed to stay on the left where I could suddenly stop without obstructing the traffic. I got out of my car, popped the hood open and some smoke rose from the engine, accompanied by a weird burning smell. I knew there and then...shit has hit the fan again for my car.

So...there I was, standing by the side of the road, briefly dumbstruck on what to do. I had never had my car broken down on the road before. I didn't realize that I could actually call AAM or my life insurance company for a free towing service. Luckily for me, I had actually stopped in front of a place where they towed cars! One of the workers (a Singh fella...dunno why I needed to point that out...) arrived for work, about 5 minutes after my car stalled. He offered to tow my car to his trustworthy mechanic's place for RM 60. Forgetting I had access free towing service, I agreed (brain not fully functional without morning dose of JAVA!). Anyways, I was desperate to get off the main road. So, he loaded my car into his tow truck and off we went. Yes, you read correctly...he loaded my car with me in it, onto his tow truck, which appears twice longer than those you see pulling cars while towing. Apparently, this method is preferred by towing services nowadays to minimize any chance of damaging the vehicle, especially if the car being towed is an expensive one.

After inspection by the mechanic, it seems that my car's water pump had leaked and the radiator was dry, causing the engine to overheat. I had ruled out the engine overheating as I had just serviced my car not long ago and made sure all water was replenished. Furthermore, when my car stalled, the meter didn't indicate any overheating, which was odd. Anyhow, I can actually start my car after the engine cooled off and refilled the radiator. Of course, it will continue to leak but only in small amounts, not gushing out entirely. The uncle (mechanic) was nice enough to provide me 2 large bottles of water and advised me to go for repairs at my own mechanic. He didn't charge me anything (well, he shouldn't since he didn't do anything) and sent me off after refilling the radiator.

I drove back to office, got in after 10 am, worked till 3.30 pm and then headed home. Went to my family mechanic for repairs and after inspection, it turns out that the oil gasket in the engine had also burst due to the overheating. Engine oil was splattered all over the bottom side of the engine and the engine oil tank was emptied too. Since all the damage occurred at the bottom of the engine, a top overhaul was needed. Hearing the word overhaul...I knew that it'd cost me a bomb that I could only make up by whoring myself part time.

After calculations, this whole endeavor is gonna cost me more than RM 700 and I'd have to leave my car at the shop for 1-2 days too. More money out than in again this month...! And I had just changed all 4 tyres last month to avoid being hit by tyre price hike caused by fuel hike.

WAH LAU EH! My Wira is seriously draining my coffers and I can't even go shopping with the Malaysia mega sale on!

Update: Just got my car back from the shop. Whole thing cost me a fucking bomb...RM 850 after 'discount'. Including the towing fee of RM 60, it cost me a total of RM 910, highest so far. Why does life hate me so much? *sigh* I need some cheering up =(